Rotation

The Indians have set their starting rotation with C.C. Sabathia starting Sunday in Chicago, followed by Jake Westbrook, Cliff Lee, Paul Byrd and Jason Johnson. . . . Westbrook is to make his final start of spring training today against Detroit. . . . Indians starter Jason Johnson allowed one run through the first five innings but couldn't make it out of the sixth as Houston scored four runs on five hits in a 6-5 loss to the Indians in Winter Haven.

GAINESVILLE - Ever since his highly anticipated debut a month ago, Chris Walker steadily faded into the background. Every move UF's 6-foot-10 freshman made on Feb. 4 against Missouri was cheered by fans and documented by media. Since then, Walker generally has been a non-factor during UF's run to an SEC title and rise to No. 1 in the nation. But the 2013 McDonald's All-American finally pitched in Saturday against LSU. On the heels of a shaky performance at Vanderbilt, Walker scored his first basket in seven games and with six rebounds nearly matched his season total (seven)

RHP Pete Munro, competing for the fifth spot in Houston's rotation, allowed three runs in the first inning Thursday as the Astros lost 7-3 to the Cleveland Indians in Winter Haven. ASTROS NOTES: Munro pitched a scoreless second inning. Two other candidates for the final rotation spot, RHP Tim Redding and LHP Carlos Hernandez, allowed two runs each in two innings. "There's no evaluation on the first day for these guys," Manager Phil Garner said. . . . C Brad Ausmus has added a leg kick at the plate in hopes of becoming a better hitter.

All hands on deck for the Orlando Magic. The Magic entered their game Sunday night against the Atlanta Hawks fully healthy. Not only did Arron Afflalo start after he rolled his left ankle two nights earlier, but reserve guard E'Twaun Moore returned to the playing rotation after he missed three consecutive games because of a bruised right thigh. Moore entered the game with 3:03 left in the first quarter. About two minutes later, he finished off a fastbreak with a layup as he absorbed a foul by Pero Antic . Moore made the ensuing free throw to put the Magic ahead 26-17.

Jon Bostic is determined to win the starting middle linebacker spit, but the likelihood is that he will find a spot on the field even if he loses the position battle. Coaches have been rotating the linebackers in and out of all three positions, to make the most of UF's linebacking depth. "At first, I was kind of like, 'why am I rotating,'" Bostic said. "But then I saw the good thing that we did was start rotating because if one person goes down at this spot, then somebody else can step in there without bringing somebody else in that may not be as talented in that position.

Florida State coaches have stuck faithfully this season to a two-tailback rotation that highlights alternating possessions for senior Lorenzo Booker and sophomore Antone Smith. The tailbacks, themselves, though, aren't particularly happy with the arrangement. It's not that they object to sharing duties in the backfield; rather, FSU's system hasn't allowed much flexibility in exploiting the talents of either player when he's hot. Case in point: This past Saturday at Maryland, Smith was responsible for 58 of FSU's 72 yards on a first-quarter scoring drive.

KANSAS CITY Prediction: 3rd in AL Cent. LAST SEASON: 77-85. MANAGER: Tony Muser, 5th season. PAYROLL: $40 million. ON THE SPOT: RHP Roberto Hernandez. New closer is being asked to transform baseball's shakiest bullpen over the past two years. DREAMS: The "Dos Carlos" (Febles and Beltran) combo at the top of the lineup makes fans forget Johnny Damon. . . . A young rotation pitches beyond its perceived talent. . . . Everything clicks and K.C. is the White Sox of 2001. NIGHTMARES: The loss of Damon slows the revved-up offense to a station-to-station plod.

FORT WORTH, Texas _ Welcome, Roy Oswalt . You fit in well here, my man. The Rangers are a good team. Good teams usually have one common trait: stability in the starting rotation, led by a proven ace, but with also some proven depth backing up the ace. That's not the Rangers. This is a good team that has much more rotation intrigue than proven anything. It's the kind of intrigue that keeps you on the entertainment edge when evaluating the Rangers. Yu, now he was the ultimate in intrigue to start this season, and still is. Nefty, the same story, making his move to the rotation after the closer meltdown last October.

Before the Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles get too embedded with their recent moves to a four-man rotation for the stretch drive, they best take note of the Chicago Cubs. The philosophy is fine - arranging to give the most consistent members of the rotation a couple extra starts. But beware of short-term gains with long-range headaches - and with five weeks remaining there is a long way to go. A disruption of a starting pitcher's conditioning program over an extended period is going to take its toll, as the Cubs appear to be finding out. The Cubs won 11 of their first 14 games after going to the four-man setup, and had an 11-1 record in games started by the big three of Rick Sutcliffe, Mike Bielecki and Greg Maddux.

Conventional thinking says a football season cannot begin without a starting lineup. But Central Florida will rely more on a rotating, collective effort at many positions when its season begins Saturday at Mississippi.''Our starters?'' UCF coach Gene McDowell said, repeating the question with a smile. ''Well, we're pretty sure we know who our starting quarterback will be.''Junior Daunte Culpepper gets the nod; no problem there.Junior Joey Hubbard seems to be a sure starter at tight end. Why?

GAINESVILLE - Even away from the football field, the Florida Gators cannot shake the injury bug that has helped turn their season upside down. Gators offensive tackle Tyler Moore suffered a compound fracture of his right elbow during a scooter accident on Tuesday night, coach Will Muschamp said Wednesday. Moore, a native of Clearwater and a transfer from Nebraska, underwent surgery on Wednesday and will miss the rest of the season, beginning with Saturday's visit from Vanderbilt.

TALLAHASSEE —Florida State's two-man rushing attack featuring playmakers James Wilder Jr. and Devonta Freeman has evolved into a trio. With carries already at a premium among FSU's crowded backfield, the Seminoles have another back in the mix. Junior Karlos Williams, who shifted positions from defensive back to running back this past week, made his presence felt during Saturday's 62-7 win against Nevada. On his first-ever carry, Williams took a toss to the right side and went untouched for a 65-yard touchdown.

UCF coach George O'Leary confirmed the Knights are in the process of ordering alternate black helmets for the 2013 season. O'Leary showed two new black helmets in front of hundreds of fans at a Hometown Huddle event Tuesday night at Bright House Networks Stadium. The Knights are planning to ultimately use a mix of the two designs, which will likely include a gold stripe. The Sentinel previously published designs for UCF's new jerseys for the 2013 season, which included white, black and gold options for tops and pants.

GAINESVILLE - Florida Gators freshman RHP Jay Carmichael reached the top spot in the rotation in March only to spend the month of April battling arm injury issues. But Carmichael is getting healthy in time to help the Gators (25-20, 12-9 SEC) push for a postseason berth in May. Carmichael (3-1, 2.60 ERA) threw an inning during Tuesday's intrasquad scrimmage and could be ready to pitch when No. 21 Florida visits No. 3 LSU for a three-game series beginning Thursday. Carmichael even could start one of the first two games against the Tigers (39-6, 16-5)

TALLAHASSEE - As he strutted his long, lean frame toward the pitcher's mound at Miami's Mark Light Field, Luke Weaver was talking to himself, offering simple reminders that he was just pitching in another ballgame. Focus on getting ahead of each hitter. Throw strikes. Get quick outs. Use your slider effectively. Remain calm. The statements are the same ones the Florida State right-hander ponders whenever he prepares for a hopeful seven-, eight- or nine-inning start, but on April 5, when the Seminoles traveled to face their rival Hurricanes, they took on even greater significance.

TALLAHASSEE - As Florida State seeks to adopt a newer, more punishing and aggressive defense this season, the Seminoles are looking for as many hard-hitting, receiver-jamming defensive backs as possible. Two veterans in particular, seniors Lamarcus Joyner and Terrence Brooks, have already proven they can fit that description. Last season, while playing the two starting safety positions, the pair led all defensive backs on the team with 51 tackles each. This season, they may not be alone.

DALLAS -- The Texas Rangers apparently have made the successful bid to bring Roy Oswalt back to the majors. A source familiar with the effort told the Dallas Morning News on Tuesday that the two-time defending AL champs signed the free-agent right-hander. However, the paper said no contract terms were available. Oswalt, 34, went 9-10 with a 3.69 earned run average in 23 starts last season for the Phillies . He spent time on the disabled list on two occasions for inflammation in his back.

Screams of outrage are bound to be heard in Buffalo this week when the coaches of the Bills look at the films of Miami's victory in New England. What they will see is the secret Miami borrowed from San Francisco - the seven-man offensive line.No, the Dolphins did not get away with having two extra linemen on the field. What they did, just as the 49ers did last season, was rotate players at two positions.''We used what we call a seven-man line, and it kept us fresh throughout the game,'' said John Sandusky, the Dolphins' offensive-line coach who often is named as the best in the business.

When he was growing up, Cedric Thompson was always a bit thicker than the other kids, he said, definitely larger than the prototypical running back. Despite his size, Thompson's father, Will Thompson, encouraged his son to play whatever position he wanted. Cedric Thompson looked up to his father, who had once played in the backfield, and so the son opted to tote the ball, too. Not much has changed since childhood for the UCF running back. Cedric Thompson is still a bit thicker than the other kids.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — SF Hedo Turkoglu said he wants to remain with the Magic next season even though the club already has effectively removed him — and Al Harrington — from its future plans. "I would like to keep playing here," Turkoglu said after the Magic's shootaround Wednesday. "I was here more years than anywhere in my career. " Turkoglu was eligible to return for the Magic's game Wednesday night in Charlotte after he served a 20-game suspension for testing positive for steroids.